Case Study 2: Update ICLT’s members annually is inputting into National Strategy Development on Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia:

In this report period, the project activity 1.2.2: Update CLT’s IP’s members list and IP- committee is conducted. By comparing to the ICLT’s membership listed in 2012, there were 165 families. Again, the reported of 2019 after the ELC with Rath Sambath Company ended, the ICLT’s membership decreased to 40-60 families, because they claimed individual land titling. Thus, land selling was increased. Since NECO started to work in 2021, the ICLT was become an agenda to discuss with members. Since the grant from UNDP-IP Small Grant started February 2024, the ICLT was a common agenda to disseminate, and the members list updated is increased to 109 families. According to 2012 listed 165 families and they were divided after the ELC with Rath Sambath Company ended into other 3 small villages clusters by claiming that they are Non-IP among 50 families split into small groups. But still some of them (IP members) were left controversial with different.

Left: Youths are preparing for family-by-family ICLT member updating. Right: Membership application forms are fill out. 

It was assisted by CCs helped pushing all of them to register as ICLT members none behind. According to Chair of IP Office of PDRD Battambang, this village is recognition IP identity and legal entity, so that all of them should register for all as ICLT’s memberships. According to the MoI and MRD, they encourage IP communities to register IP memberships that this activity will input into the recording of IP data information in Cambodia as well as the Ministry of Planning is really needed. Due to the current situation, the Royal Government of Cambodia is high pay attention to IP issues, including accelerating ICLT and Identity Recognition.

This project recommends that the updating ICLT and IP Communities’ memberships shall conduct annually, and the data information shall share with relevant stakeholders, development partners and relevant Ministries in order to on time intervention on IP issues in Cambodia.